Gelsenkirchen

ARENA PARK Gelsenkirchen

The ARENA PARK is evolving into an internationally-renowned calling card for Gelsenkirchen: situated at the heart of the city, it is already a location for sport, medicine, rehabilitation, events, tourism, leisure and gastronomy. Attracting over three million visitors per year speaks for itself. The area around the football club, founded in 1904, of the Gelsenkirchen district Schalke and the VELTINS Arena, which opened in 2001, has developed into a place of sport and leisure that is not only a magnet for sports enthusiasts and fans, but also companies, skilled workers, tourists and patients. Around 3,000 people work here.

The centrepiece is the internationally-acclaimed VELTINS Arena, a venue for sport, trade fairs and entertainment. No other place in Gelsenkirchen has witnessed such significant moments as the ARENA PARK. The list of historic events is long. Examples include the football world cup of 1974, the papal visit of 1987, the Michael Jackson concert in 1988, the European football championships of 1988, the Rolling Stones in 1998, the Champions League final in 2004 and the 2006 football world cup.

The 120 ha location offers ideal conditions for the commercial sites of the future. Four construction plots are immediately available in the ARENA PARK for future projects. They range in size from around 4,000 m² to 18,000 m². The various plots can be used for “project appropriate” purposes. They are to have their own individual character, consciously accommodating the diverse requirements of future users.

Investors will find themselves in good company. FC Schalke 04, one of the most valuable brands in international professional football, is investing a total of 95 m euros in the conversion of its club site and the visionary “Tor auf Schalke”, which will combine a fan and visitor centre, club museum and mega store. The company medicos.AufSchalke is the largest out-patient rehabilitation and health centre in Europe and the official healthcare partner of FC Schalke 04 and the professional football players’ association. It is planning its next expansion in the form of “Haus II”. Fans, visitors and tourists can find accommodation offers at the four star superior Hotel Courtyard by Marriott, with the three star superior Hotel Hampton by Hilton currently under construction next door. Gelsenwasser AG is currently considering the realisation of a “Gelsenwasser Campus” to promote innovations within the company.

Around the VELTINS Arena Gelsenkirchen city council is establishing the future lab #Open Innovation Lab (OIL), a smart city test site within the “digital model city” of Gelsenkirchen. In the scope of the OIL a range of standard air interfaces are to be offered, delivering an optimal environment for a test site for the development of new applications or the testing of sensors. Developers, companies and start-ups are testing solutions for mobility, working and living in the city - such as rubbish bins that communicate when they are full and streetlamps that indicate free parking spaces or dim themselves automatically.

The next major event at the ARENA PARK will be the European football championships of 2024.